


feel at home

by EmperorSnarkon (launchmeintospace)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: JuLance Challenge 2018, M/M, Post Season 6, anyway yeah im gonna try to follow lancearchive's (on twitter) prompt list wish me luck, my wattpad summary: in which i employ choppy syntax and flat jokes for an earth reunion fic, s7 whom?, so i failed julance month big time, this is lance lovin month baby, what about it?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 00:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/launchmeintospace/pseuds/EmperorSnarkon
Summary: the best part about being back on earth was feeling at home.





	feel at home

To Lance, there was no planet more beautiful than the earth. No spiraling galaxy or unlikely white hole was more wondrous than his little blue planet. It was the only planet with rain as he knew it, beaches out of a dream, and --most importantly-- his family. The family he hadn’t seen in so long.

Under his skin, Lance’s heart began to race, pounding harder and harder against ribs that increasingly felt too delicate to keep everything inside. Sweat slicked the space between his palms and Red’s controls, making his vice-like grip slide the slightest bit as he shook.

“We’re going home- We’re going home,” Lance breathed out loud to no one. Maybe to Red, but the lion wasn’t attached to Earth the way Lance was, the way Blue had been.

Red hummed at the back of his mind, an undercurrent of warmth that told Lance Red was happy because he was happy. Yeah, Red didn’t love Earth -- _yet_ \-- but he was excited to know the planet most of Voltron was fond of.

“You’re gonna love it,” Lance assured, almost nostalgic as Earth filled his monitors. “There’s plenty of volcanoes for you to dip your little robokitty toes.”

Maybe Lance’s eyes were an ocean, water that moved at the whims of the moon because it seemed the closer to Earth he got, the more moisture gathered at his eyes. A gentle high tide.  
  
A video call opened on the left side of his monitor, pulling his attention away from the Atlantic Ocean. Hunk, his own eyes glossy and quivering lips stretched into a grin, met his gaze. Lance blinked, too happy to be embarrassed as a tear managed to roll down his aching cheeks. As it turned out, Lance had been grinning for a while and had been completely unaware of it.

“We’re home, buddy.”

“Yeah,” Hunk sniffed. “Oh gosh, I’m gonna cry- it’s too late I’m crying.”

Lance laughed, the sound awkward through the thickness of his throat. “Get a grip, dude. You’re gonna make me cry.”

Hunk scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, bottom lip pushed out in a pout. “You started crying first. I saw that tear, man, don’t try to hide it.”

“I’m not,” Lance replied softly. He wiped his clammy palms against the worn denim over his thighs before adding the others to the call. “So, whatcha plannin’ on doing once we touchdown, kiddos?”

No one answered for a moment. Lance pulled his stare from where it had drifted to the upside down view of the Gulf of Mexico back to his friends. Those from Earth he found gazing away longingly and those from out of this world with awed curiosity.

“‘Cause, I know we have the war to get back to, and we should get the Castle of Lions Two Point O up and running as soon as possible… but… I’m dying to see my family.” His fingers flexed nervously.

Allura’s eyes snapped to Lance’s over the transmission, eyebrows pulled in as if saddened. “I wouldn’t dare keep you away from your loved ones. Of course you can go visit your families… I presume that forming an alliance with the Earth governments may take quite some time anyhow.”

Pidge’s snicker sounded particularly gremlin-like over the crystal clear audio. “Yeah, they’re all a mess.” The snicker sounded a bit like a sob at the end. Lance felt something within him settle as Matt gathered his sister in his arms.

“Thank you, Allura.” Lance murmured, hoping his smile and leaking eyes displayed at least a fraction of the gratitude he was feeling, easing a tension around his heart he hadn’t been aware of. It was ridiculous, in hindsight, to have thought Allura would not let him see his family first thing on Earth. If anyone knew the value of familial bonds and knew of the pressing ache to see and hold those you love it was the Princess. “Hey, if you want, you can come down and meet my family. You guys can all come. They’ll love you.” He turned to look behind him, meeting the bored stare of his cow. Lance blew her a kiss. “Especially you, Kaltenecker.”

A high pitched bark, something more fitting for a small dog, brought his attention to the screen showing the cluttered cockpit of the Black Lion. Keith’s sheepish eyes met Lance’s, barely visible around a lapful of cosmic wolf. “Awe, you. Don’t worry, they’ll love you, baby girl.” Lance cooed. “Keith, pet her and kiss her nose for me.”

“You got it,” Keith said, cradling his wolf’s head gently to plant a tiny kiss at the tip of her snout, pale fingers getting lost in her fur.

Warm, Lance smiled fondly at the pair before sweeping his eyes over everyone. “Okay, well, my family is in Cuba, so if you wanna come…Just… follow me, I guess.”

“We’ll show up for the afterparty, Alvarez,” Pidge said, pointing her stubby little thumb at herself then her older brother. “We have a mom to tackle.”

Lance hit the sides of his fist against his chest, over his heart, then gave Pidge a solemn peace sign. “Mad respect, bro. Make sure Matt doesn’t get into any trouble.”

Pidge grinned as Matt squawked. “Later, Paladudes.” She steered her lion away.

Hunk wiped more tears away. “Gosh, they grow up so fast.”

Nodding, Lance said, “We did the best we could, buddy.”

Keith snorted, burying his nose in his wolf’s fur. Even his mom -cool, stoic, awesome- looked vaguely amused.

“Shut _up_ , Keith, raising kids is hard work,” Lance whined. “I’d like to see you do better.”

Keith smirked in a self-satisfied way and Lance blinked once before realizing his mistake. “I have already.” He pressed his cheek against his dog’s and fluttered his eyelashes because apparently Keith knew how to make jokes and was also cute as heck. “And she’s not a brat.”

Lance glared with no heat, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“I hate to interrupt,” Hunk said sheepishly, “but I also have mom’s to tackle and cry with. I’ll see you guys later. I love you guys so much, stay safe, don’t forget to look behind you when you park, bye, I love you.”

“I miss you already, man.” Lance waved goodbye at Hunk’s comm as he saw the Yellow Lion peel off.

“Where would one go to win over the American government?” Allura asked, glancing between Lance and Keith with a determined glint in her eyes.

“Princess, perhaps it would be best to take a break before diving into work,” Coran tried to reason, one hand on her shoulder and the other shooing one of the mice away from his mustache.

“You could go to the President, win her over,” Keith half-joked. “And once you have her on our side, we can tell the Garrison to suck it.”

Her eyes lit up. “The President? Where can I find her?”

“The White House in Washington DC.” Lance answered, receiving a blank smile in return. “Just ask Blue, she was on Earth long enough to get synced with satellite GPS.”

Allura took off after promising to visit everyone’s families once she had an alliance with the President, pausing to smile and wish Lance good luck with a quiet voice. The last Lance heard before she hung up her video call was Coran attempting to convince her to take it easy.

There was a brief silence. “So…” He turned to Keith, to Keith’s mom, glanced at his dog, then turned back to Keith’s mom. “Can Keith come over to my house?”

 

***

 

“Aaaaaaaaaah…” Lance yelled calmly, teeth clenched and sweat beaded at his forehead. He shook his hands out, wiped his palms on his thighs for the hundredth time.

Bemused, Keith watched him fidget. “Why are you so nervous?”

“Why aren’t you?” Lance questioned. “You’re the one making the first impression today, not me.”

“And yet…” Keith sighed, pointedly flickering his eyes over the more glaringly obvious of Lance’s physical manifestations of anxiety.

“I just… I don’t know how they’ll react, y’know?” Lance stared at his hands, flushing red at what he had admitted. It sounded dumber out loud than he had thought. “What if they’re mad? What if they thought I died? What if one of _them_ die-?”

“OKAY, that’s enough,” Keith interrupted, gesturing as if he could cut down Lance’s ideas midair. He stared Lance down as if daring him to interrupt or something, thick eyebrows pulled low over his eyes. “They’re your family, right? They miss you and they love you and they’ll be so happy that you’re back and alive and that’s that.”

“Wow,” Lance sighed, gazing at Keith with a half-smile. “You sure have a way with words, Kogane.”

Krolia cleared her throat and Lance's spine snapped to a straightened position. “Right, okay. Okay.” He jumped up and sucked in a breath. Was it just him or was the cockpit spinning? “Be good, Red,” He mumbled, patting the dashboard and exiting before he lost his nerve. “Let’s rollout, autobots.”

The sun was shining, rays instantly warming up the skin it kissed. It seemed to be late afternoon and the trees of the Varahicacos ecological reserve just softened the light even further. Breathing in by itself was heaven; the air wasn’t the same flat, recycled stuff from spaceships or the strange air of unfamiliar planets. It was familiar, all damp earth, salty sea breeze, and a mashup of the scents of organisms around them.

Lance released the breath in a long sigh, shutting his eyes briefly. He heard the wolf sniff and pad around, heard the others breathe deeply, hopefully enjoying the air as much as he was. He was almost afraid to open his eyes. It felt unreal to be back. The wrong step could have the ground shifting out from under his feet.

He blinked his eyes open and all the trees were where he had seen them. The wolf was peeing on a tree trunk. The Galra duo and Shiro, blearly wiping sleep from his eyes, stood awkwardly to his side, looking away as he had his moment. “Alright, follow me,” He said, the corners of his mouth quirking up.

After some walking, Lance was sweating for a reason other than nerves. His signature jacket was relocated around his waist. Keith trudged in step with him, face blotchy red and shining. His mom powered on behind them, face decidedly bored and -unless she was very good at hiding it- unaffected by the heat. Shiro --God, the poor guy-- was sweating out every drop of water he had ever drank in his life. If he had had on eyeliner, the force of his sweat would have probably made it run off.

“Are we lost?” Keith asked with a hint of a petulant whine to his voice. What good were those two years on a space whale if he couldn’t handle a little hike like a grownup?

Lance rolled his eyes. He waved a hand erratically, careful to keep a tight grip on his phone. “No! I have GPS.”

“How did you not lose that?” Keith stared at the black phone in disbelief.

Lance sniffed. “I take good care of my things.”

They broke the tree line soon after and --like the sky was waiting just for them-- it began to rain. A few cold drops splattered on Lance’s face, who turned his face up into them, gazing at the blue sky in wonder.

“Oh man,” Keith muttered quietly and smiled at the sky. “This is my favorite kind of weather. Sunny rain. It’s like an oxymoron, yeah?”

Lance bumped his shoulder against Keith’s. “Dude, you’re such a nerd.” The content expression on Keith’s dumbly cute face made Lance’s guts squirm.

Keith bumped him back. “Name a more iconic weather phenomenon, I’ll wait.”

Rain trailed off the smooth planes of Keith's face, tracing over the healing burn wound cutting across one cheek. Lance’s eyes followed the paths of a few drops, letting his eyes trace over Keith’s eyebrows, round nose, and small mouth. “No, sunny rain is pretty swell.”

“Swell?” An eyebrow arched up. “Who’s the nerd now?”

Cheeks red, Lance spun to face Keith’s mom. “Krolia! Your son is bullying me.”

Her mouth curled up, eyes soft and fond as she looked at Keith. “Yorak, be nice to your friends.”

“YOrAk?” Lance nearly screeched as Keith actually did, and they continued on their way to the soundtrack of Lance’s teasing and Keith’s flustered complaints. 

**Author's Note:**

> im gonna b honest i forgot to write in shiro until literally the last minute uhehehehe. tags and the summary will update once I know what this is! I appreciate feedback very much. Thank you for reading :3.


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